1. Blackberry Bold 9900 Desktop Software Mac 2017

BlackBerry Bold 9900 (T-Mobile)

• Pros

  • Thin, sleek design.
  • Excellent QWERTY keyboard.
  • Sharp screen.

• Cons

  • Very expensive.
  • No Wi-Fi calling.
  • Poor-quality apps compared with Android and iOS.

• Bottom Line

  The BlackBerry Bold 9900 is sleeker and faster than before, but otherwise it's still more of the same, instead of the revolution Research In Motion desperately needs.

The new BlackBerry Bold 9900 on T-Mobile will delight owners of older BlackBerries who have been waiting for an upgrade. But while the hardware is shiny and new, the Bold 9900's 'new' OS is too similar to older versions to make a real difference. While the Bold 9900 finally gets a competitive WebKit browser and capacitive touch screen with BlackBerry OS 7, this cell phone is still no match for T-Mobile’s awesome range of high-end Android devices.

Design, Connectivity, and Call Quality
Much of what I wrote in the BlackBerry Bold 9930 ($249, 3 stars) review also applies to the 9900. Externally, the two devices are completely identical; both are classy looking executive-style smartphones. Filter blue light from mac apps. The Bold 9900 measures 4.5 by 2.6 by 0.4 inches (HWD) and weighs 4.5 ounces. The 2.8-inch capacitive touch screen offers an ultra-sharp (for its size) 640-by-480-pixel resolution. You still get the usual BlackBerry touchpad underneath the screen, but I find it easier to just tap and scroll using the screen itself, the more I get used to the idea of a touch screen Bold (which is jarring at first, if you’re used to older models). Typing on the Bold 9900’s four-row QWERTY keyboard, as with the Bold 9930, felt great.

The Bold 9900 is a tri-band HSPA 14.4 (850/1700/2100 MHz) and quad-band EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) device with 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi. That means it works on 3G networks both here and abroad. Note that while T-Mobile claims this is a 4G BlackBerry, it really isn’t, because it only supports HSPA 14.4. Expect download speeds averaging 3 Mbps, slower than the 5 Mbps and greater averages we've seen from truly 4G, HSPA+ 21 devices like the Samsung Galaxy S 4G ($99, 4 stars).

Blackberry Bold 9900 Desktop Software Mac 2017

Inexplicably, the BlackBerry Bold 9900 has no Wi-Fi calling ability. That's unusual for a T-Mobile phone, and a disappointment. I also had very poor 3G signal reception in a marginal T-Mobile area in Massachusetts, where the Samsung Exhibit 4G ($29.99, 3.5 stars) had no trouble finding 3G - so Wi-Fi calling would have been welcome.

All AT&T® customers can view available BlackBerry® Desktop and BlackBerry® Device Software by selecting a product from the drop down menu below. Performing device software updates will require the USB cable that came with your BlackBerry® smartphone. Updates may take 30 minutes or more to complete, during which time you will be unable to.

Calls sounded good through the Bold 9900, with a clear, warm tone in the earpiece, and just a touch of static around transmissions through the microphone. Calls also sounded fine through an Aliph Jawbone Era Bluetooth headset ($129, 4 stars), and voice dialing worked fine over Bluetooth. The speakerphone distorted a bit, but sounded reasonably full, if not quite as loud as other BlackBerrys I've tested. Talk time was average, at 5 hours 44 minutes, but that understates the 9900's battery life. This being a BlackBerry, it has considerably better standby time than other top smartphones—up to a few days of regular use.

Upgrades, Apps, and Messaging
The Bold 9900 gets a slightly different software bundle than its brethren on other carriers. T-Mobile adds MobileLife Family Organizer, a Cozi-powered scheduler, list maker, and journaling app. It also rebrands a few of the icons; the browser becomes web2go, for example. Like the Bold 9930, the Bold 9900 runs BlackBerry OS 7, which contain a much faster WebKit browser, some minor UI refinements, and a new “liquid graphics” engine that generally remains invisible. The new scrolling icon menus are fun to use, if a bit tough to get used to. There are way too many settings pages scattered throughout the phone. And much like old Windows Mobile Professional devices, you can tell that the OS wasn’t originally designed for touch; sometimes it’s easier to just use the trackpad to nail the setting you want.

Otherwise, everything else remains the same as the Bold 9930. That includes Qualcomm’s 1.2GHz Snapdragon CPU, the 5-megapixel camera, and the 720p HD camcorder, which are all major updates from earlier BlackBerrys. The Bold 9900 feels very fast—faster than any older Bold or Curve you may be experienced with. As always, the Bold 9900 supports personal and business email accounts, though you’ll need a BlackBerry Enterprise Server installed at your company if you want to sync with Microsoft Exchange Server. The universal inbox supports Facebook and Twitter updates as well as email and instant messages.

BlackBerry App World is still a disaster. When I first tested it in early 2009, I didn’t mind the freeze-ups and bugs so much. But today, they’re still there. And there still aren’t enough compelling programs, and even the useful ones usually trail their Android or iOS counterparts. Simply put: get an Android device or iPhone if you like apps.

Multimedia, Camera, and Conclusions
The buried microSD card slot is a pain, but BlackBerry Desktop Software makes it easy to sync songs, playlists, and videos with a PC or Mac. Music tracks sounded clear through Samsung Modus HM6450 Bluetooth headphones ($99, 4 stars), and standalone videos played smoothly in full screen mode. My 32GB SanDisk card popped up a formatting error, but worked fine once I reformatted the card. The camera takes slightly soft, muted, but still usable photos both indoors and out, although the lack of auto-focus can be troublesome. The 720p HD camcorder is a decent stand-in for a (now discontinued) Cisco Flip; it records smooth, 1280-by-720-pixel videos at 30 frames per second, and the image stabilization setting helps a bit.

All told, I’m having a hard time recommending the BlackBerry Bold 9900, especially given its very high $299 up-front price. If BlackBerries were the only smartphones in the world (or if they're the only smartphone your boss lets you have), the 9900 would rate as excellent. And it's a great choice for enterprise messaging. But most of the world is demanding a rich app selection on its smartphones now. Before you buy the Bold 9900, have a look at the T-Mobile myTouch 4G Slide ($199, 4.5 stars), our current Editors’ Choice. It offers a slide-out, hardware QWERTY keyboard, a next-generation dual-core processor, Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), and a capacitive touch screen that’s almost an inch larger than the BlackBerry Bold 9900’s. It’s a little big and heavy, though; if you want something smaller, the older T-Mobile G2 ($99, 4 stars) is slimmer and lighter, and remains an awesome phone with a QWERTY keyboard otherwise.

Benchmarks
Continuous Talk Time: 5 hours 44 minutes

By now you probably know all there is to know about your device, but if not, we've got you covered with some basic info below.

On this page:

Device buttons and key features

Get a little refresher about the different buttons on your device as well as some of its key features.

Buttons

Icons

Display screen Icons

Battery status indicator

Home screen status indicators

Message list status indicators

Phone status indicators

Calendar status indicators

Wireless coverage indicators

Indicators

Key Features

• Screen Size: 2.8
• SIM: Mini
• Platform: BlackBerry
• Software: BlackBerry 6.1

User guide

Check out the attached PDF user guide to find basic step-by-step procedures for your device.

Back up and restore

When you restore data to your BlackBerry device, all files that are stored on your device are deleted before the backup file is restored.

Backup

1. Connect the device to a computer using a USB cable.
2. In the BlackBerry Desktop Software, click Device.
3. Click Back up.
4. Perform one of the following actions:
   1. To back up all data, click Full Backup.
   2. To back up all data except e-mail messages, click Quick Backup.
   3. To select which types of data to back up, click Custom Backup and select the checkboxes next to the desired data.
5. If desired, click Files saved on my built-in media storage.
6. Click Back up.
7. Click close once the backup is complete.

Restore

1. Connect your device to your computer using a USB cable.
2. In BlackBerry Desktop Manager, click Device.
3. Click Restore.
4. Select the backup file you want to use.
5. Perform one of the following actions:
   • To restore all data, click Full restore.
   • To select which data you want to restore, click Custom restore and select the checkboxes for the desired data. See KB03974 for details.
   • To restore data to built-in media storage, select the Files saved on my built-in media storage checkbox.
6. If the backup file is encrypted, enter the password.
7. Click Restore.

Reset your device

A master reset restores the original factory settings and may delete your personal data on the internal storage, such as downloads, ringtones, images, apps, contacts, and Visual Voicemail. It doesn't delete data stored on the SIM card or SD card.

Master reset with settings menu

1. If necessary, touch the bottom of the Home screen to expand the Applications panel.
2. Scroll to the All panel and tap the Options icon.
3. Scroll to and tap Security.
4. Tap Security Wipe.
5. To choose which data will be wiped, select or clear the check boxes next to the following options:
   • Emails, Contacts, etc.
   • User Installed Applications
   • Media Card
6. Enter blackberry in the text field.
7. Tap Wipe Data.

Memory and SIM cards

SIM card

1. Lift and remove the back cover from your phone.
2. Remove the battery by lifting it out of the compartment.
   
3. Insert or remove the SIM card.
   • The gold contacts face down and the notched corner of the SIM faces out of the slot.
     
4. Align the golden contacts on the battery with the golden contacts in the battery compartment.
   
5. Press the battery into place.
6. Insert the tabs on the back cover into your phone and click the back cover into place.

Memory card

1. Press and hold the End/Power key to turn the phone off.
2. Lift then remove the back cover from your phone.
   
3. Remove the battery.
4. Slide the memory card into the memory card holder with the golden contacts facing down.
   
5. Re-insert the battery.
   
6. Replace the back cover by inserting the tabs first and pressing down.

Network settings

Change band

1. If necessary, touch the bottom of the Home screen to expand the Applications panel.
2. Scroll to the All panel and tap the Options icon.
3. Tap Networks and Connections.
4. Tap Mobile Network.
5. Tap Network Mode.
6. Select one of the following options:
   • 2G: Use only 2G connection speed.
   • 3G/4G & 2G: Automatically switch between connection speeds depending on the quality of the connection.

Manual network selection

1. If necessary, touch the bottom of the Home screen to expand the Applications panel.
2. Scroll to the All panel and tap the Options icon.
3. Tap Networks and Connections.
4. Tap Mobile Network.
5. Tap Network Selection Mode.
6. Tap Manual.
7. The phone will scan for available networks.
8. Scroll to and tap the desired network.

Turn on/off data roaming

1. If necessary, touch the bottom of the Home screen to expand the Applications panel.
2. Scroll to the All panel and tap the Options icon.
3. Tap Networks and Connections.
4. Tap Mobile Network.
5. Tap While Roaming.
6. Select one of the following options:
   • On
   • Off
   • Prompt

Turn on and connect to Wi-Fi

1. If necessary, touch the bottom of the Home screen to expand the Applications panel.
2. Scroll to the All panel and tap the Manage Connections icon.
3. Scroll to and tap Wi-Fi Network.
4. If prompted, tap Turn on Wi-Fi to turn on Wi-Fi and scan for available networks.
5. Scroll to and tap the desired network.
6. If required, enter a passphrase.
7. Tap Connect.
   • Note: Many public Wi-Fi networks require a log in. If prompted about HotSpot log in, tap OK. This launches a Web page to log into the Wi-Fi provider's network.
8. If required, enter the requested security information.

APN settings

1. If necessary, touch the bottom of the Home screen to expand the Applications panel.
2. Scroll to the All panel and tap the Options icon.
3. Scroll to and select Device.
4. Scroll to and select Advanced System Settings.
5. Scroll to and select TCP IP.
6. Enter the following information:
   • APN: epc.tmobile.com
   • Username: <blank>
   • Password: <blank>
7. Press the Menu key.
8. Scroll to and select Save.

Upgrade your device

You've probably been through a lot with your device and although it's tough to say goodbye, it just might be time to say your farewells and get a new device. Check out some upgrade options or learn about our Equipment Installment Plan which helps break down the costs of devices into manageable monthly payments.

Already have a new device? Learn how to Set up a new mobile device or visit SD card & device file transfer for details on how to transfer your personal data.

Still need help?

If you're having trouble with your device or it's just not working like it use to do, check out our troubleshooting pages or visit our Community forums for additional help.

You can also visit BlackBerry Knowledge Base or open the attached PDF user guide below for additional support.